Subscription requirement indication for service

ABSTRACT

A STA and method of providing a subscription policy are provided. The STA determines a subscription policy for a multicast, broadcast or unicast service and provides a policy comprising an indication that indicates active subscription (i.e. group joining is required) or no subscription (i.e. group joining is prohibited) or implicit subscription (i.e. group joining is implicit), dependent on network or subscription conditions. Updates to the policy are transmitted upon one or more thresholds are being reached. Subscribers re-subscribe to the service when the indication switches from implicit subscription to active subscription.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/298,059, filed Feb. 22, 2016, andentitled “SUBSCRIPTION REQUIREMENT INDICATION FOR SERVICE,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relateto wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks includingnetworks operating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family ofstandards, such as the IEEE 802.11ac standard, the IEEE 802.11ax studygroup (SG) (named DensiFi) or IEEE 802.11ay. Some embodiments relate tomulticast/unicast service support provided by Wi-Fi Aware 2.0.

BACKGROUND

The use of personal communication devices has increased astronomicallyover the last two decades. The penetration of mobile devices (alsoreferred to as stations (STAs) or user equipment) in modern society hascontinued to drive demand for a wide variety of networked devices in anumber of disparate environments. The use of networked STAs using avariety of communication protocols has increased in all areas of homeand work life. The STAs may be provided one of a number of differenttypes of service, including unicast (STA to STA communication) andmulticast (one or more publishers to multiple subscribers). Multicastservice, however, has added layers of complexity, at least in part dueto the potential use of both active and passive subscriptions. Due tothe different types of subscriptions, it may be difficult to determineto determine the amount of traffic at any point. It would be beneficialto design a subscription policy that permits a publisher to more easilykeep track of subscribers subscribing to a particular service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but notby way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 is a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates components of a communication device in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates another block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates unicast scheduling in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates passive multicast scheduling in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates active multicast scheduling in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for establishing a multicast subscriptionin accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network in accordance with someembodiments. In The network 100 may be an Enhanced Directional MultiGigabit (EDMG) network, a High Efficiency Wireless Local Area Network(HEW) network, and/or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or a Wi-Finetwork. As an example, the network 100 may support EDMG devices in somecases, non EDMG devices in some cases, and a combination of EDMG devicesand non EDMG devices in some cases. As another example, the network 100may support HEW devices in some cases, non HEW devices in some cases,and a combination of HEW devices and non HEW devices in some cases. Asanother example, some devices supported by the network 100 may beconfigured to operate according to EDMG operation and/or HEW operationand/or legacy operation. Accordingly, it is understood that althoughtechniques described herein may refer to a non EDMG device, an EDMGdevice, a non HEW device or an HEW device, such techniques may beapplicable to any or all such devices in some cases.

The network 100 may include any number (including zero) of masterstations (STA) 102, user stations (STAs) 103, HEW stations 104 (HEWdevices), and EDMG stations 105 (EDMG devices). Any of the STAs shown inFIG. 1 may act as a publisher and/or subscriber (also called source andsink, respectively). The master station 102 may be a stationarynon-mobile device, such as an access point (AP). In some embodiments,the STAs 103 may be legacy stations. These embodiments are not limiting,however, as the STAs 103 may be HEW devices or may support HEW operationin some embodiments. In some embodiments, the STAs 103 may be EDMGdevices or may support EDMG operation. It should be noted thatembodiments are not limited to the number of master STAs 102, STAs 103,HEW stations 104 or EDMG stations 105 shown in the example network 100in FIG. 1. The master station 102 may be arranged to communicate withthe STAs 103 and/or the HEW stations 104 and/or the EDMG stations 105 inaccordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards. In accordancewith some HEW embodiments, an AP may operate as the master station 102and may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium (e.g., during acontention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for an HEWcontrol period (i.e., a transmission opportunity (TXOP)). The masterstation 102 may, for example, transmit a master-sync or controltransmission at the beginning of the HEW control period to indicate,among other things, which HEW stations 104 are scheduled forcommunication during the HEW control period. During the HEW controlperiod, the scheduled HEW stations 104 may communicate with the masterstation 102 in accordance with a non-contention based multiple accesstechnique. This is unlike conventional Wi-Fi communications in whichdevices communicate in accordance with a contention-based communicationtechnique, rather than a non-contention based multiple access technique.During the HEW control period, the master station 102 may communicatewith HEW stations 104 using one or more HEW frames. During the HEWcontrol period, STAs 103 not operating as HEW devices may refrain fromcommunicating in some cases. In some embodiments, the master-synctransmission may be referred to as a control and schedule transmission.

In some embodiments, a first STA 103 may transmit a grant frame to asecond STA 103 to indicate a transmission of a data payload on primarychannel resources or on secondary channel resources. The first STA 103may receive an acknowledgement message for the grant frame from thesecond STA 103. The first STA 103 may transmit a data payload to thesecond STA 103 in the channel resources indicated in the grant frame.These embodiments will be described in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HEWcontrol period may be a scheduled orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) technique, although this is not a requirement. In someembodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access(FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique maybe a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique including amulti-user (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) (MU-MIMO)technique. These multiple-access techniques used during the HEW controlperiod may be configured for uplink or downlink data communications.

The master station 102 may also communicate with STAs 103 and/or otherlegacy stations in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communicationtechniques. In some embodiments, the master station 102 may also beconfigurable to communicate with the HEW stations 104 outside the HEWcontrol period in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communicationtechniques, although this is not a requirement. The master station 102may form a Basic Service Set (BSS) with the other STAs 103, 104, 105having a BSSID and communicating using IEEE 802.11 protocols (using anIEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac or ax protocol) in a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) or Wi-Fi network.

In some embodiments, the HEW communications during the control periodmay be configurable to use one of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz contiguousbandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth. In someembodiments, a 320 MHz channel width may be used. In some embodiments,subchannel bandwidths less than 20 MHz may also be used. In theseembodiments, each channel or subchannel of an HEW communication may beconfigured for transmitting a number of spatial streams.

In some embodiments, EDMG communication may be configurable to usechannel resources that may include one or more frequency bands of 2.16GHz, 4.32 GHz or other bandwidth. Such channel resources may or may notbe contiguous in frequency. As a non-limiting example, EDMGcommunication may be performed in channel resources at or near a carrierfrequency of 60 GHz.

In some embodiments, primary channel resources may include one or moresuch bandwidths, which may or may not be contiguous in frequency. As anon-limiting example, channel resources spanning a 2.16 GHz or 4.32 GHzbandwidth may be designated as the primary channel resources. As anothernon-limiting example, channel resources spanning a 20 MHz bandwidth maybe designated as the primary channel resources. In some embodiments,secondary channel resources may also be used, which may or may not becontiguous in frequency. As a non-limiting example, the secondarychannel resources may include one or more frequency bands of 2.16 GHzbandwidth, 4.32 GHz bandwidth or other bandwidth. As anothernon-limiting example, the secondary channel resources may include one ormore frequency bands of 20 MHz bandwidth or other bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the primary channel resources may be used fortransmission of control messages, beacon frames or other frames orsignals by the AP 102. As such, the primary channel resources may be atleast partly reserved for such transmissions. In some cases, the primarychannel resources may also be used for transmission of data payloadsand/or other signals. In some embodiments, the transmission of thebeacon frames may be restricted such that the AP 102 does not transmitbeacons on the secondary channel resources. Accordingly, beacontransmission may be reserved for the primary channel resources and maybe restricted and/or prohibited in the secondary channel resources, insome cases.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using anysuitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 2 illustratescomponents of a STA in accordance with some embodiments. At least someof the components shown may be used in an AP, for example, such as theSTA 102 or AP 104 shown in FIG. 1. The application or processingcircuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. Forexample, the application circuitry 202 may include circuitry such as,but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors.The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purposeprocessors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors,application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with and/ormay include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructionsstored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/oroperating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processorsand/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receivesignal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals fora transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206. Baseband processingcircuitry 204 may interface with the application circuitry 202 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 206. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 204 may include a second generation (2G) basebandprocessor 204 a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 204 b, fourthgeneration (4G) baseband processor 204 c, and/or other basebandprocessor(s) 204 d for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation(5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more ofbaseband processors 204 a-d) may handle various radio control functionsthat enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RFcircuitry 206. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution,turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoderfunctionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation andencoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and mayinclude other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include elements ofa protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universalterrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, forexample, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control(RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resourcecontrol (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 204 e of thebaseband circuitry 204 may be configured to run elements of the protocolstack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. Insome embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audiodigital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204 f. The audio DSP(s) 204 f may beinclude elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation andmay include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in asingle chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board insome embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry202 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on achip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network(WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured tosupport radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may bereferred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. In some embodiments, theSTA 200 can be configured to operate in accordance with communicationstandards or other protocols or standards, including Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 wireless technology(WiMax), IEEE 802.11 wireless technology (Wi-Fi) including 802.11 ax,various other wireless technologies such as global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), GSMEDGE radio access network (GERAN), universal mobile telecommunicationssystem (UMTS), UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), or other2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. technologies either already developed or to bedeveloped.

RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 208 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signalpath and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RFcircuitry 206 may include mixer circuitry 206 a, amplifier circuitry 206b and filter circuitry 206 c. The transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 206 may include filter circuitry 206 c and mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 may also include synthesizer circuitry 206 d forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path may be configuredto down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 based onthe synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 206 d. Theamplifier circuitry 206 b may be configured to amplify thedown-converted signals and the filter circuitry 206 c may be a low-passfilter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwantedsignals from the down-converted signals to generate output basebandsignals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the basebandcircuitry 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the outputbaseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thisis not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 206 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 208. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 206 c. The filter circuitry 206 c mayinclude a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodimentsis not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206 a may be arranged fordirect downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path may be configuredfor super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 206.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 206 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206 a of the RFcircuitry 206 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. Insome embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 204 orthe applications processor 202 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 202.

Synthesizer circuitry 206 d of the RF circuitry 206 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (f_(LO)). Insome embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include an IQ/polarconverter.

FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 210, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one ormore of the one or more antennas 210.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noiseamplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplifiedreceived RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 206). Thetransmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 208 may include a poweramplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RFcircuitry 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals forsubsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or moreantennas 210.

In some embodiments, the STA 200 may include additional elements suchas, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/orinput/output (I/O) interface as described in more detail below. In someembodiments, the STA 200 described herein may be part of a portablewireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant(PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communicationcapability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wirelessheadset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, anaccess point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart ratemonitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that mayreceive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, theSTA 200 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable userinteraction with the system and/or peripheral component interfacesdesigned to enable peripheral component interaction with the system. Forexample, the STA 200 may include one or more of a keyboard, a keypad, atouchpad, a display, a sensor, a non-volatile memory port, a universalserial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, one ormore antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, aspeaker, a microphone, and other I/O components. The display may be anLCD or LED screen including a touch screen. The sensor may include agyro sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient lightsensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may communicatewith components of a positioning network, e.g., a global positioningsystem (GPS) satellite.

The antenna 210 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 210 may be effectivelyseparated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the differentchannel characteristics that may result.

Although the STA 200 is illustrated as having several separatefunctional elements, one or more of the functional elements may becombined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configuredelements, such as processing elements including digital signalprocessors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, someelements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on oneor more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more processors and may be configured with instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication device in accordance withsome embodiments. The device may be a STA or AP, for example, such asthe STA 102 or AP 104 shown in FIG. 1. The communication device 300 mayinclude physical layer circuitry 302 and transceiver circuitry 312 fortransmitting and receiving signals to and from one or more APs, STAs orother devices using one or more antennas 301. The communication device300 may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry 304 forcontrolling access to the wireless medium. The communication device 300may also include processing circuitry 306, such as one or moresingle-core or multi-core processors, and memory 308 arranged to performthe operations described herein. The communication device 300 may alsoinclude wired and/or wireless interfaces 310 to communicate withcomponents external to the network. The physical layer circuitry 302,MAC circuitry 304 and processing circuitry 306 may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks compatible with one or more radio technologies. The radiocontrol functions may include signal modulation, encoding, decoding,radio frequency shifting, etc. For example, similar to the device shownin FIG. 2, in some embodiments, communication may be enabled with one ormore of a WMAN, a WLAN, and a WPAN. In some embodiments, thecommunication device 300 can be configured to operate in accordance with3GPP standards or other protocols or standards, including WiMax, Wi-Fi,GSM, EDGE, GERAN, UMTS, UTRAN, or other 3G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.technologies either already developed or to be developed. The physicallayer circuitry 202, MAC layer circuitry 304, transceiver circuitry 312,processing circuitry 308, memory 308 and interfaces 310 may be separatecomponents or may be part of a combined component.

The antennas 301 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMOembodiments, the antennas 301 may be effectively separated to takeadvantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristicsthat may result.

Although the communication device 300 is illustrated as having severalseparate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements maybe combined and may be implemented by combinations ofsoftware-configured elements, such as processing elements includingDSPs, and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements maycomprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, FPGAs, ASICs, RFICs andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on oneor more processing elements. Embodiments may be implemented in one or acombination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also beimplemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storagedevice, which may be read and executed by at least one processor toperform the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the communication device 300 may be a mobile deviceand may be a portable wireless communication device, such as a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wirelesscommunication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, asmartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, adigital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such asa medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor,etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit informationwirelessly.

In some embodiments, the communication device 300 may communicate usingOFDM communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel.Accordingly, in some cases the communication device 300 may beconfigured to receive signals in accordance with specific communicationstandards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) standards including IEEE 802.11-2012, 802.11n-2009 and/or802.11ac-2013 standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANsincluding proposed HEW standards, although the scope of the embodimentsis not limited in this respect as they may also be suitable to transmitand/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques andstandards. In some other embodiments, the communication device 300 maybe configured to receive signals that were transmitted using one or moreother modulation techniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g.,direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequencyhopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time-divisionmultiplexing (TDM) modulation, and/or frequency-division multiplexing(FDM) modulation, although the scope of the embodiments is not limitedin this respect.

In accordance with embodiments, the communication device 300 maytransmit an SM-OFDM signal that comprises multiple OFDM signals, and theSM-OFDM signal may be received at the communication device 300. TheSM-OFDM signal may be transmitted in channel resources that comprisemultiple sub-carriers and the OFDM signals may be based at least partlyon data symbols for used data portions of the sub-carriers. The useddata portions may be based on a first portion of encoded bits and thedata symbols for the used data portions may be based on a second portionof the encoded bits. In some examples, the used data portions of thesub-carriers may be different for at least some of the OFDM signals.

In some embodiments, the channel resources may be used for downlinktransmission and for uplink transmissions by the communication device300. That is, a time-division duplex (TDD) format may be used. In somecases, the channel resources may include multiple channels, such as the20 MHz channels previously described. The channels may include multiplesub-channels or may be divided into multiple sub-channels for the uplinktransmissions to accommodate multiple access for multiple communicationdevices 300. The downlink transmissions may or may not utilize the sameformat.

In some embodiments, the downlink sub-channels may comprise apredetermined bandwidth. As a non-limiting example, the sub-channels mayeach span 2.03125 MHz, the channel may span 20 MHz, and the channel mayinclude eight or nine sub-channels. Although reference may be made to asub-channel of 2.03125 MHz for illustrative purposes, embodiments arenot limited to this example value, and any suitable frequency span forthe sub-channels may be used. In some embodiments, the frequency spanfor the sub-channel may be based on a value included in an 802.11standard (such as 802.11ax), a 3GPP standard or other standard.

In some embodiments, the sub-channels may comprise multiplesub-carriers. Although not limited as such, the sub-carriers may be usedfor transmission and/or reception of OFDM or OFDMA signals. As anexample, each sub-channel may include a group of contiguous sub-carriersspaced apart by a pre-determined sub-carrier spacing. As anotherexample, each sub-channel may include a group of non-contiguoussub-carriers. That is, the channel may be divided into a set ofcontiguous sub-carriers spaced apart by the pre-determined sub-carrierspacing, and each sub-channel may include a distributed or interleavedsubset of those sub-carriers. The sub-carrier spacing may take a valuesuch as 78.125 kHz, 312.5 kHz or 15 kHz, although these example valuesare not limiting. Other suitable values that may or may not be part ofan 802.11 or 3GPP standard or other standard may also be used in somecases. As an example, for a 78.125 kHz sub-carrier spacing, asub-channel may comprise 26 contiguous sub-carriers or a bandwidth of2.03125 MHz.

FIG. 4 illustrates another block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments. In alternative embodiments, thecommunication device 400 may operate as a standalone device or may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices. In anetworked deployment, the communication device 400 may operate in thecapacity of a server communication device, a client communicationdevice, or both in server-client network environments. In an example,the communication device 400 may act as a peer communication device inpeer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Thecommunication device 400 may be an AP or a STA such as a PC, a tabletPC, a STB, a PDA, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, anetwork router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that communication device. Further, while only a singlecommunication device is illustrated, the term “communication device”shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devicesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), othercomputer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a communication device readable medium. In anexample, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of themodule, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

Communication device (e.g., computer system) 400 may include a hardwareprocessor 402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combinationthereof), a main memory 404 and a static memory 406, some or all ofwhich may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 408.The communication device 400 may further include a display unit 410, analphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface(UI) navigation device 414 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the displayunit 410, input device 412 and UI navigation device 414 may be a touchscreen display. The communication device 400 may additionally include astorage device (e.g., drive unit) 416, a signal generation device 418(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 420, and one or moresensors 421, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device 400 may includean output controller 428, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus(USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), nearfield communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or controlone or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 416 may include a communication device readablemedium 422 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures orinstructions 424 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one ormore of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions424 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 404, within static memory 406, or within the hardware processor402 during execution thereof by the communication device 400. In anexample, one or any combination of the hardware processor 402, the mainmemory 404, the static memory 406, or the storage device 416 mayconstitute communication device readable media.

While the communication device readable medium 422 is illustrated as asingle medium, the term “communication device readable medium” mayinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configuredto store the one or more instructions 424.

The term “communication device readable medium” may include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions forexecution by the communication device 400 and that cause thecommunication device 400 to perform any one or more of the techniques ofthe present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions.Non-limiting communication device readable medium examples may includesolid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examplesof communication device readable media may include: non-volatile memory,such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically ProgrammableRead-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RandomAccess Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples,communication device readable media may include non-transitorycommunication device readable media. In some examples, communicationdevice readable media may include communication device readable mediathat is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions 424 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 426 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 420 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., IEEE 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family ofstandards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards,peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the networkinterface device 420 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g.,Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect tothe communications network 426. In an example, the network interfacedevice 420 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicateusing at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, ormultiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, thenetwork interface device 420 may wirelessly communicate using MultipleUser MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the communication device 400, andincludes digital or analog communications signals or other intangiblemedium to facilitate communication of such software.

As above, any of the STAs shown in FIGS. 1-4 may act as a unicast ormulticast publisher or subscriber. Wi-Fi Aware 2.0 initiatives from theWi-Fi Aware IEEE group to provide multicast/unicast service support areongoing. In Wi-Fi Aware 2.0, STAs may be publishers, subscribers, orboth. Publishers may persistently broadcast a signal that indicatespermission to connect. Subscribers persistently search for publishers,and when found, may initiate a connection request. In NeighborhoodAwareness Network (NAN) STAs may specifically advertise servicesprovided and groups to other STAs are permitted join as well asdiscovering services offered by other, proximate STAs. To this end, STAsin a NAN network may provide frames for a variety of network functions.The frames may include action frames that, among others, permit networksynchronization for STAs and subscription frames that permitadvertisement and discovery of various multicast and unicast services,as well as beacon frames that advertise the presence of the NAN network.One or more STAs may set up a NAN Data Path (NDP) with one or more otherSTAs for service delivery, either directly or through an intermediarysuch as an AP with a NAN Data Link (NDL) for the schedule.

For unicast service support, two STAs may form data connection andnegotiate schedules to communicate with each other. FIG. 5 illustratesunicast scheduling in accordance with some embodiments. A NDP/NDLinitiator STA 510 and a NDP/NDL responder STA 520 may exchange a seriesof communications to schedule a unicast service. In particular, theNDP/NDL initiator STA 510 may transmit a NDP request or NDL schedulerequest 502 to a NDP/NDL responder STA 520. The request 502 may thus betransmitted from a subscriber to a publisher. The request 502 may or maynot use a security association, such as being encoded using a privatekey. Whether security is used may depend on characteristics of theNDP/NDL initiator STA 510, a NDP/NDL responder STA 520, or content to beprovided by the NDP/NDL initiator 510. In response to the request 502,the NDP/NDL responder STA 520 may transmit a NDP response or NDLschedule response 504 to the NDP/NDL initiator STA 510. The response504, similarly, may or may not use any security association, which againmay be dependent on the above characteristics. The NDP/NDL initiator STA510, having received the response 504, may transmit a NDL scheduleconfirmation 506 to the NDP/NDL responder 510. In some embodiments, theNDP/NDL initiator STA 510 may avoid transmitting the confirmation 506.

Multicast service is different from unicast service as a subscription ofmulticast publisher by a multicast subscriber may avoid a negotiationsuch as that shown in FIG. 5. This may be accomplished by using passivesubscription. FIG. 6 illustrates passive multicast scheduling inaccordance with some embodiments. In passive subscription, a multicastpublisher 610 may broadcast scheduling information in a servicediscovery frame (SDF) 602 for any potential multicast subscriber toreceive. A multicast subscriber 620 may merely subscribe to an addressused by the multicast publisher 610 and receive the scheduled multicastdata automatically. The address may be for a particular individualstream of multicast data, each of which provides a different service, abundled set of streams or for all streams. The multicast publisher 610may broadcast the stream information, e.g., a list of the addresses andcorresponding streams. For example, after signing up using the addressfor a particular service, the multicast publisher 610 may providemulticast news and the multicast subscriber 620 may simply receive thenews when multicast by the multicast publisher 610.

The multicast publisher 610 may also have more control of the schedulesetup for the various multicast streams as the traffic may onlyoriginate from a single point—the multicast publisher. This is to saythat the communications may be one way communications rather than twoway communications. The multicast publisher 610 may be responsible forkeeping track of the multicast subscribers 620 that have subscribed tothe different multicast streams to maintain reliability of the multicastservice to the multicast subscribers 620. In some embodiments, however,this may be more easily determined and controlled than through the useof an active subscription exchange with the multicast subscribers 620,notably when multiple multicast publishers 610 provide the samemulticast service in a many-to-many multicast.

FIG. 7 illustrates active multicast scheduling in accordance with someembodiments. FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for establishing a multicastsubscription in accordance with some embodiments. Multiple elements maybe present in FIG. 7, including a publisher 710 and a subscriber 720that receives multicast service. The publisher may provide one or moretypes of services, including multicast, broadcast or unicast services,the type of which may indicate a particular type of subscriptionavailable. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the publisher 710 may be amulticast publisher that provides a multicast service and the subscriber720 may be a multicast subscriber that receives the multicast service.

As shown in FIG. 8, at operation 802, the publisher 710 may provide anindication of the available service to the subscriber 720 in a servicediscovery frame (SDF) 702 or unicast transmission. The advertisement maycontain a subscription policy that indicates a subscription type for thesubscriber 720 to obtain the service from the publisher 710. In someembodiments, the advertisement or message may include in addition to anidentification of the service and subscription policy, a schedule. Themessage containing the schedule may be transmitted, for example, inFurther Availability Window advertised by the publisher 710. In someembodiments, the advertisement 702 containing the subscription policymay be published by the publisher 710 at regular intervals. In someembodiments, the advertisement 702 containing the subscription policymay be broadcast at times that are dependent on other conditions, e.g.,based on the number of STAs or subscribers (increasing with increasingnumber of STAs or subscribers) located near the publisher 710 or incommunication with the publisher 710. The publication message maycontain the service schedule or, in some embodiments, the schedule maybe provided to a subscriber in response to a request from thesubscriber.

The subscriber 720 may receive the advertisement and determine whetherit wishes to subscribe to the service. The subscriber 720 may displaythe subscription information on a display and wait for user interactionto make the determination or, in some circumstances, the user may havealready provided to the subscriber 720 an indication to subscribe to theservice. In response to determining that the service is desired, thesubscriber 720 may examine the subscription policy extracted from theadvertisement and determine the manner of subscription. In theembodiment, the subscriber 720 may determine that the subscriptionpolicy indicates that active subscription is required or implicitsubscription is allowed, for example. In this case, the subscriber 720may transmit at multicast request with subscription information to thepublisher 710. The request 702 may be for an individual stream ofmulticast data, for a bundled set of streams or for all streams. Atoperation 804, the publisher 710 may determine whether a request inresponse to the advertisement of the service has been received from asubscriber 720.

If a request has not been received from the subscriber 720, thepublisher 710 may not provide the service (if a minimum number ofsubscribers is not present) or may continue to provide the service basedon a particular schedule for the service. The publisher 710 may, asabove, return to operation 802 and periodically advertise the service.In response to receiving a request 704 from the subscriber 720, thepublisher 710 may at operation 806 transmit a response 706. As above,the request 704 and response 706 may be, respectfully a multicastrequest and response. The response 706 may, for example, containschedule information (or updated schedule information) and/or updatedsubscription policy for the service. The subscription policy may becontained within a multicast attribute. The subscriber 720 may, in otherembodiments, transmit a subscription request 708 in response toreceiving the response 706.

In many-to-many multicast embodiments, the multicast publisher 710 maynot be the only publisher of the multicast data. In such embodiments,the multicast publisher 710 may start a multicast group that can be usedfor extension to a multicast group with multiple multicast publishers.The initiating multicast publisher may control scheduling of themulticast service provided by the many-to-many multicast group for othermulticast publishers that join the multicast group. Such a multicastgroup may employ security such as private key exchange when subscribing.In some embodiments, the security may be linked to subscribing via aparticular multicast publisher or may be linked to the multicast group.In the former case, only multicast subscribers subscribing via anunsecure multicast publisher, may employ the security or may employ aheighted security requirement, while multicast subscribers subscribingvia a secure multicast publisher may avoid use of the securityrequirement or may use a lesser security. Active subscription may bepart of a group joining process or part of a general multicast requestand response frame exchange.

Due to security issues, for example, active subscription may bepreferred for certain multicast groups or multicast publishers.Embodiments in which every multicast subscriber is to perform activesubscription may, however, be problematic for multicast subscribers forwhich passive subscription is more desirable from a power or efficiencystandpoint. For example, machine type communication (MTC) devices orSTAs whose battery life is relatively low may prefer to use passiverather than active subscription to reduce the number of communicationsand thus power drain. In addition, in embodiments in which only activesubscription is used, every multicast subscriber transmits a multicastrequest for subscription to one or more multicast publishers. This maycreate a substantial amount of signaling for subscription andun-subscription, which may use a similar process as subscription.Moreover, while embodiments in which each multicast subscriber itselfdecides whether to use active subscription may lead to a reduced amountof traffic, this may also lead to reduced control by the multicastpublisher as the multicast publisher may not have sufficient knowledgeto determine whether at least one multicast subscriber is subscribed tothe multicast group. This may be an issue as, if no multicastsubscribers are present, the multicast publisher may merely waste powerand bandwidth that may be better used elsewhere as the multicasttransmissions from the multicast publisher may be effectively uselessdue to the lack of STAs receiving the broadcast. Similarly, a unicastservice may also want to stop other potential unicast subscriber STAsfrom subscribing to a unicast service due to one or more of the unicastpublisher or unicast subscriber reaching a maximal service limit.

The publisher 710 may at operation 808 determine whether the servicesand/or policies change. Thus, either the policy for a previouslyindicated subscription may change or new services may be provided orexisting services removed by the publisher 710. A server that providesthe multicast data to the network or other network equipment maydetermine whether an update is to be performed and instructs thepublisher 710 to make the update. The update may be based on device ornetwork related changes, such as the number of subscribers or quality ofservice (QoS) provided for the subscribers exceeding or falling belowone or more thresholds.

In response, the publisher 710 may update the subscription policy atoperation 810. The subscription policy may be updated immediately orperiodically as services and/or policies change. Whether or not thesubscription policy 804 has been updated, the subscription policy may beperiodically transmitted in an advertisement or directly to subscribers720 in some embodiments. The subscriber 720 may either automaticallylisten for the periodic subscription policy transmissions updates or abroadcast message may be transmitted to request that the subscriber 720listen at a predetermined time for the next one or more updates.

For a multicast publisher, whether or not a frame exchange betweenmulticast publisher 710 and multicast subscriber 720 is to be used maybe indicated by the subscription policy. The indication can be used fora subscription by the multicast subscriber 720, or for a multicast groupjoining if the subscription is the same as the multicast group joining.The subscription policy may indicate subscription type (unicast,multicast, broadcast) and policy. The subscription policy may indicatewhich of at least three different policies is in effect for a particularsubscription: active subscription (i.e., frame exchange for groupjoining is required or group joining is required), implicit subscription(i.e., frame exchange for group joining is not required or group joiningis implicit) and no subscription (i.e., frame exchange for group joiningis prohibited or group joining is prohibited), also referred to as(active) subscription prohibited. The subscription policy may use a twoor more bits to indicate the particular subscription policy in the aboveembodiment. In other embodiments, subscription/group joining may belimited to only being required or prohibited, in which case a single bitmay be used. The subscription policy may differ for different servicesoffered by the publisher 710 or may be dependent on the publisher 710such that all services offered by the publisher 710 have the samesubscription policy. In some embodiments, further subscription-relatedindications may be available. In some embodiments, an active time periodmay be associated with the subscription policy or particular serviceswithin the subscription policy. Thus, the indications in thesubscription policy may be periodically updated and the subscribersregularly receive and determine the subscription policy.

As above, once the subscription policy has been provided to thesubscriber 720, the subscriber 720 may employ the appropriatesubscription policy for the desired subscription through transmission ofa subscription transmission to the publisher 710. In an embodiment inwhich the indication in the subscription policy indicates activesubscription to a multicast service is required, the multicastsubscriber 720 may perform a frame exchange with the multicast publisher710 to subscribe to the multicast service. Thus, the subscriptiontransmission may include the frame exchange. This may preventtransmission of the multicast service by the multicast publisher 710when no multicast subscriber is present. The subscription policy may bethe same as the multicast group joining policy. Active subscription maybe a default policy when the publisher 710 is a unicast publisher.

In another embodiment, the indication in the subscription policy mayindicate that active subscription is not required. In this case, themulticast subscriber 720 may determine whether or not to perform theactive subscription process (frame exchange). This may permit amulticast subscriber 720 to decide to avoid additional signaling andinstead use passive subscription. On the other hand, the activesubscription process may be used by the multicast subscriber 720 upondetermination by the multicast subscriber 720 to actively subscribe tojoin a multicast group.

In another embodiment, the indication in the subscription policy mayindicate that subscription is prohibited. In this case, the multicastsubscriber 720 may not be able to perform active subscription with themulticast publisher 710. Consequently, the multicast subscriber 720 mayremain using passive subscription. This may, for example, allow themulticast publisher 710 to prevent excessive signaling from multiplemulticast subscribers to reduce network traffic. However, this may beuseful in certain situations, such as only if a broadcast service isprovided from the multicast publisher 710 and no subscription isrequired. It may also be useful if a unicast service publisher hasreached a predetermined limit for providing service. One example of sucha scenario is a printer that may not be able to accept any printingjobs.

As above, the signaling in the subscription policy for the indicationcan be 1 or 2 bits, dependent on the embodiment. The signaling can becarried in a multicast attribute, such as that shown in Table 1. In someembodiments, the multicast attribute can be the same as the attributefor a multicast group. The multicast attribute can be carried in a SDF,NAN management frame, or any public action frame used for multicastrequest and multicast response. One example of a subscription policy isprovided in Table 1, below.

TABLE 1 Field Size Value Description Attribute ID  8 bits TBD Identifiesthe type of NAN (1 octet) attribute, ex. multicast attribute Length 16bits Variable Length of the following fields (2 octets) in the attributeMulticast 1 octet/ variable Bit 0 and Bit 1 are defined for Subscription2 bits Active Subscription Policy Policy 00: Active Subscription isrequired 01: Active Subscription is not required (Implicit Subscription)10: Active Subscription is prohibited 11: reserved. Bit 2-Bit 7:reserved.

In some embodiments, the indication indicates that activesubscription/group joining is required before the multicast publisher710 may complete subscription/group joining frame exchange with themulticast subscriber 720. The multicast publisher 710 can thus use theindication that active subscription is not required as a defaultindication. This permits the multicast publisher 710 to be able todetermine whether there is at least one multicast subscriber 720 thathas subscribed to the service or joined the group.

After the multicast publisher 710 completes the subscription/groupjoining frame exchange, the indication may continue to indicate thatactive subscription/group joining is required or can be switched toimplicit subscription/group joining is implicit (to permit passivesubscription) or no subscription/group joining is available. Thus,subsequent multicast subscribers may avoid a frame exchange with themulticast publisher 710, thereby reducing resource usage duringsubscription. On the other hand, the indication may continue to indicatethat active subscription/group joining is required to permit themulticast publisher 710 to have an accurate count of the number ofsubscribers.

In some embodiments, the subscription policy change (and thusindication) may occur after a predetermined number (e.g., 1, 2 or 3)multicast subscribers have subscribed via a frame exchange with themulticast publisher 710 to ensure that at least one multicast subscriberhas subscribed when another of the multicast subscribers that hasperformed a frame exchange with the multicast publisher 710 (registered)unsubscribes. In this case, when the multicast publisher 710 determinesthat the number of registered multicast subscribers has fallen below thepredetermined number, the multicast publisher 710 may readjust thesubscription policy to require active subscription/group joining. Thismay avoid an issue with the multicast publisher 710 not being able todetermine whether at least one multicast subscriber has subscribed or isin the group. In some embodiments, hysteresis may be applied such thatthe initial change occurs at a predetermined number of multicastsubscribers that is higher than the reversal (e.g., 3 to adjust fromrequired to permitted/implicit, and 1 to change back frompermitted/implicit to required). After a different, higher predeterminednumber of subscription/group joining frame exchanges, the multicastpublisher 710 may switch the indication to active subscription/groupjoining is prohibited from active subscription/group joining is requiredor implicit subscription/group joining is implicit—either directly orindirectly jumping from required to prohibited. This may reduce thesignaling overhead. Similarly, once the prohibited activesubscription/group joining number is reached, the indication maycontinue to indicate prohibiting active subscription/group joining untila number below the higher predetermined number is reached (e.g., 100 toadjust from required or permitted to prohibited, and 3 to change backfrom prohibited to required). Similarly, the multicast subscriber 720may report QoS characteristics to the multicast publisher 710, which maybe used instead or in addition to the number of subscribers to determinewhether to change the indication. The QoS may have one or morethresholds similar to those above. The thresholds for the number ofsubscribers and/or QoS may change when both sets of thresholds are usedto determine whether to change the indication.

In some embodiments, the indication may change from indicating thatactive subscription/group joining is required to indicating thatimplicit subscription is allowed and then to indicating that nosubscription/group joining. The indication may subsequently remainindicating that no subscription/group joining before transitioning backto indicating that active subscription/group joining is required withoutagain indicating that implicit subscription is allowed there between.

The above has focused on multicast service. For unicast service, allthree indications can be used. An indication that active subscriptionand subscription is prohibited may, however, be more useful for unicastservice. The subscription policy field can be disposed in a SDF or NDPfor unicast connection setup. Similar to the multicast subscriptionshown in Table 1, the subscription policy field for unicast service maybe one or two bits and use the same or a similar set of mappings as inTable 1. Also similar to a multicast publisher, a unicast publisher mayuse the indication active subscription required as a default indication.The unicast publisher can subsequently switch the indication to activesubscription prohibited when a predetermined maximum number ofsubscribers is reached, which may be limited by the service or by theability of the unicast publisher.

For each of the services indicated (unicast, multicast, broadcast), whenthe subscription policy changes, a predetermined set of rules may bedefined. When the subscription policy switches from active subscriptionnot being required to active subscription being required, STAs that havealready subscribed to the service may be requested by the multicastpublisher to re-subscribe to the service. This transmission may be abroadcast transmission to enable the resubscription request to reach allSTAs. In some embodiments, the multicast publisher may determine that anexcessive number of subscribers are present and/or that the QoS is belowa minimum threshold and limit the number of subscribers to fewer thanthose subscribed prior to the resubscription transmission. Thelimitation may be on a “first come first served” basis or may bedependent on the STAs, e.g., the STAs may have different subscriptionpriorities.

When subscription policy is switched from active to not required, STAsthat intend to subscribe to the service may avoid the frame exchangeused for subscription. STAs that have already subscribed may ignore thechange, and not resubscribe. When subscription policy is switched fromactive/not required to prohibited, STAs that intend to subscribe to theservice may terminate the transmission for subscription to save onnetwork communications but continue to monitor subscription policybroadcasts for an update that permits the STAs to subscribe to theservice.

Examples

Example 1 is an apparatus of a publisher, the apparatus comprising:memory; and processing circuitry, arranged to: retrieve, from thememory, a subscription policy for a multicast service of the publisher,the subscription policy comprising an indication that is selectable fromamong at least: active subscription or group joining required, or activesubscription or group joining prohibited; and generate, for transmissionin a Neighborhood Awareness Network (NAN) message, the indication to asubscriber to subscribe to the multicast service.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes,wherein: the message is generated for transmission via a publish messagein Further Availability Window advertised by the publisher.

In Example 3, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-2optionally include, wherein the subscription policy indicates asubscription type that indicates a type of service is multicast and apolicy indicated by the indication.

In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-3optionally include, wherein a default subscription policy, applied whenotherwise unspecified, is active subscription or group joining required.

In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-4optionally include, wherein when the indication indicates activesubscription is required, a frame exchange between the subscriber andthe publisher is to be used to subscribe the subscriber to the multicastservice.

In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-5optionally include, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and when the indication indicates thatimplicit subscription is allowed, the subscriber is allowed to subscribeto the multicast service implicitly without a frame exchange.

In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6optionally include, wherein when the indication indicates activesubscription is prohibited, a frame exchange is avoided between thesubscriber and the publisher for the subscriber to subscribe to themulticast service.

In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7optionally include, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and the processing circuitry isfurther arranged to generate a subscription policy update having a newindication after active subscription by an initial active subscriber toensure that the multicast service is subscribed to by at most theinitial active subscriber, the indication being active subscription orgroup joining required and the new indication being implicitsubscription allowed.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 optionally includes,wherein the processing circuitry is further arranged to: generate asubscription policy update having a new indication after a number ofactive subscribers falls below a predetermined threshold number ofsubscribers, the indication being one of implicit subscription orsubscription/group joining is prohibited and the new indication beingactive subscription or group joining required.

In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-9optionally include, wherein: the subscription policy is indicated in amulticast attribute carried in at least one of a service discovery frame(SDF), a NAN management frame or a public action frame for multicastrequest and multicast response, and the indication is provided using aplurality of bits.

In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-10optionally include, wherein the processing circuitry is further arrangedto: generate a subscription policy update having a new indication afteractive subscription by a predetermined number of subscribers, the newindication being active subscription or group joining prohibited.

In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-11optionally include, further comprising: an antenna configured totransmit the subscription policy to the subscriber.

Example 13 is a method of communicating a subscription policy, themethod comprising: receiving from a publisher a subscription policy fora service in a Neighborhood Awareness Network (NAN), the subscriptionpolicy comprising an indication selectable from active subscription orgroup joining required, implicit subscription allowed, or subscriptionor group joining prohibited, the subscription policy being updatable toprovide a different indication; and subscribing to the service using thesubscription policy indicated by the indication, the service selectedfrom among a multicast service, a unicast service and a broadcastservice.

In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 optionally includes,wherein the subscription policy indicates a subscription type thatindicates a type of service as one of multicast, unicast and broadcastand a policy indicated by the indication.

In Example 15, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-14optionally include, wherein the method further comprises: engaging in aframe exchange to subscribe to the multicast service when the indicationindicates active subscription is required.

In Example 16, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-15optionally include, wherein the method further comprises: determiningwhether to engage in a frame exchange to subscribe to the multicastservice when the indication indicates implicit subscription allowed, andavoiding a frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast service when theindication indicates active subscription is prohibited.

In Example 17, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-16optionally include, wherein the method further comprises at least oneof: receiving a first subscription policy update having a firstindication after active subscription by the subscriber to ensure thatthe multicast service is subscribed to by at most the subscriber, theindication being active subscription or group joining required and thefirst indication being implicit subscription allowed, receiving a secondsubscription policy update having a second indication after a number ofactive subscribers falls below a predetermined threshold number ofsubscribers, the indication being one of subscription or group joiningprohibited or implicit subscription allowed and the second indicationbeing active subscription or group joining required, or receiving athird subscription policy update having a third indication after activesubscription by a predetermined number of subscribers, the thirdindication being subscription or group joining prohibited.

In Example 18, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-17optionally include, wherein the method further comprises receiving arequest to re-subscribe to the multicast service when the indicationswitches from implicit subscription allowed to active subscriptionrequired.

Example 19 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium thatstores instructions for execution by one or more processors of asubscriber to configure the subscriber to: receive, from a publisher ina Neighborhood Awareness Network (NAN), a subscription policy for amulticast service, the subscription policy comprising an indicationselectable from active subscription or group joining required, implicitsubscription allowed, or subscription or group joining prohibited; andreceive from a publisher a subscription policy update when apredetermined set of network or subscription conditions is met.

In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 optionally includes,wherein the instructions further configure the subscriber to: engage ina frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast service when theindication indicates active subscription or group joining is required,determine whether to engage in a frame exchange to subscribe to themulticast service when the indication indicates implicit subscription isallowed, and avoid a frame exchange to subscribe to the multicastservice when the indication indicates active subscription is prohibited.

In Example 21, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 19-20optionally include, wherein the instructions further configure thesubscriber to at least one of: receive a first subscription policyupdate having a first indication after active subscription by thesubscriber to ensure that the multicast service is subscribed to by atmost the subscriber, the indication being active subscription or groupjoining required and the first indication being implicit subscriptionallowed, receive a second subscription policy update having a secondindication after a number of active subscribers falls below apredetermined threshold number of subscribers, the indication being oneof subscription or group joining prohibited or implicit subscriptionallowed and the second indication being active subscription or groupjoining required, or receive a third subscription policy update having athird indication after active subscription by a predetermined number ofsubscribers, the third indication being subscription or group joiningprohibited.

In Example 22, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 19-21optionally include, wherein the instructions further configure thesubscriber to receive a request to re-subscribe to the multicast servicewhen the indication switches from implicit subscription allowed toactive subscription required.

In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 19-22optionally include, wherein the predetermined set of network orsubscription conditions comprise at least one of a minimum or maximumthreshold number of active subscribers or a quality of service (QoS)being reached.

Example 24 is an apparatus of a subscriber, the apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a publisher in a Neighborhood AwarenessNetwork (NAN), a subscription policy for a multicast service, thesubscription policy comprising an indication selectable from activesubscription or group joining required, implicit subscription allowed,or subscription or group joining prohibited; and means for receivingfrom a publisher a subscription policy update when a predetermined setof network or subscription conditions is met.

In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 optionally includes,further comprising: means for engaging in a frame exchange to subscribeto the multicast service when the indication indicates activesubscription or group joining is required, means for determining whetherto engage in a frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast service whenthe indication indicates implicit subscription is allowed, and means foravoiding a frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast service when theindication indicates active subscription is prohibited.

In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-25optionally include, further comprising at least one of: means forreceiving a first subscription policy update having a first indicationafter active subscription by the subscriber to ensure that the multicastservice is subscribed to by at most the subscriber, the indication beingactive subscription or group joining required and the first indicationbeing implicit subscription allowed, means for receiving a secondsubscription policy update having a second indication after a number ofactive subscribers falls below a predetermined threshold number ofsubscribers, the indication being one of subscription or group joiningprohibited or implicit subscription allowed and the second indicationbeing active subscription or group joining required, or means forreceiving a third subscription policy update having a third indicationafter active subscription by a predetermined number of subscribers, thethird indication being subscription or group joining prohibited.

In Example 27, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-26optionally include, further comprising means for receiving a request tore-subscribe to the multicast service when the indication switches fromimplicit subscription allowed to active subscription required.

In Example 28, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-27optionally include, wherein the predetermined set of network orsubscription conditions comprise at least one of a minimum or maximumthreshold number of active subscribers or a quality of service (QoS)being reached.

Example 29 is an apparatus of a publisher, the apparatus comprising:means for storing a subscription policy for a multicast service of thepublisher, the subscription policy comprising an indication that isselectable from among at least: active subscription or group joiningrequired or active subscription or group joining prohibited; and meansfor generating, for transmission in a Neighborhood Awareness Network(NAN) message, the indication to a subscriber to subscribe to themulticast service.

In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29 optionally includes,wherein the subscription policy indicates a subscription type thatindicates a type of service is multicast and a policy indicated by theindication.

In Example 31, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-30optionally include, wherein a default subscription policy, applied whenotherwise unspecified, is active subscription or group joining required.

In Example 32, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-31optionally include, wherein when the indication indicates activesubscription is required, a frame exchange between the subscriber andthe publisher is to be used to subscribe the subscriber to the multicastservice.

In Example 33, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-32optionally include, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and when the indication indicates thatimplicit subscription is allowed, the subscriber is allowed to subscribeto the multicast service implicitly without a frame exchange.

In Example 34, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-33optionally include, wherein when the indication indicates activesubscription is prohibited, a frame exchange is avoided between thesubscriber and the publisher for the subscriber to subscribe to themulticast service.

In Example 35, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-34optionally include, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and the processing circuitry isfurther arranged to generate a subscription policy update having a newindication after active subscription by an initial active subscriber toensure that the multicast service is subscribed to by at most theinitial active subscriber, the indication being active subscription orgroup joining required and the new indication being implicitsubscription allowed.

In Example 36, the subject matter of Example 35 optionally includes,further comprising: means for generating a subscription policy updatehaving a new indication after a number of active subscribers falls belowa predetermined threshold number of subscribers, the indication beingone of implicit subscription or subscription/group joining is prohibitedand the new indication being active subscription or group joiningrequired.

In Example 37, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-36optionally include, wherein: the subscription policy is indicated in amulticast attribute carried in at least one of a service discovery frame(SDF), a NAN management frame or a public action frame for multicastrequest and multicast response, and the indication is provided using aplurality of bits.

In Example 38, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-37optionally include, further comprising: means for generating asubscription policy update having a new indication after activesubscription by a predetermined number of subscribers, the newindication being active subscription or group joining prohibited.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specificationand drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereofshow, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodimentsshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. Combinations of the aboveembodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein,will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, UE,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a wireless communicationstation (STA) configured to operate as a publisher, the apparatuscomprising: memory; and processing circuitry, arranged to: retrieve,from the memory, a subscription policy for a multicast service of thepublisher, the subscription policy comprising an indication that isselectable from among: active subscription/group joining required, inwhich a frame exchange between a subscriber and the publisher is to beused to subscribe the subscriber to the multicast service, and activesubscription/group joining prohibited, in which a frame exchange isavoided between the subscriber and the publisher for the subscriber tosubscribe to the multicast service; and encode, for transmission in aNeighborhood Awareness Network (NAN) message, the indication to thesubscriber to subscribe to the multicast service.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the message is generated for transmission via apublish message in Further Availability Window advertised by thepublisher.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the subscription policyindicates a subscription type that indicates a type of service ismulticast and a policy indicated by the indication.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein a default subscription policy, applied when otherwiseunspecified, is active subscription/group joining required.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and when the indication indicates thatimplicit subscription is allowed, the subscriber is allowed to subscribeto the multicast service implicitly without a frame exchange.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the indication is further selectable fromimplicit subscription is allowed, and the processing circuitry isfurther arranged to generate a subscription policy update having a newindication after active subscription by an initial active subscriber toensure that the multicast service is subscribed to by at most theinitial active subscriber, the indication being active subscription orgroup joining required and the new indication being implicitsubscription allowed.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further arranged to: generate a subscriptionpolicy update having a new indication after a number of activesubscribers falls below a predetermined threshold number of subscribers,the indication being one of implicit subscription or subscription/groupjoining is prohibited and the new indication being activesubscription/group joining required.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the subscription policy is indicated in a multicast attributecarried in at least one of a service discovery frame (SDF), a NANmanagement frame or a public action frame for multicast request andmulticast response, and the indication is provided using a plurality ofbits.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther arranged to: generate a subscription policy update having a newindication after active subscription by a predetermined number ofsubscribers, the new indication being active subscription/group joiningprohibited.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an antennaconfigured to transmit the subscription policy to the subscriber.
 11. Amethod of communicating a subscription policy, the method comprising:receiving from a publisher a subscription policy for a service in aNeighborhood Awareness Network (NAN), the subscription policy comprisingan indication selectable from active subscription/group joiningrequired, implicit subscription allowed, or active subscription/groupjoining prohibited, the subscription policy being updatable to provide adifferent indication; and subscribing to the service using thesubscription policy indicated by the indication, the service selectedfrom among a multicast service, a unicast service and a broadcastservice, wherein the method further comprises: engaging in a frameexchange to subscribe to the multicast service when the indicationindicates active subscription/group joining is required, determiningwhether to engage in the frame exchange to subscribe to the multicastservice when the indication indicates implicit subscription is allowed,and avoiding the frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast servicewhen the indication indicates active subscription is prohibited.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the subscription policy indicates asubscription type that indicates a type of service as one of multicast,unicast and broadcast and a policy indicated by the indication.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises at least oneof: receiving a first subscription policy update having a firstindication after active subscription by the subscriber to ensure thatthe multicast service is subscribed to by at most the subscriber, theindication being active subscription/group joining required and thefirst indication being implicit subscription allowed, receiving a secondsubscription policy update having a second indication after a number ofactive subscribers falls below a predetermined threshold number ofsubscribers, the indication being one of subscription or group joiningprohibited or implicit subscription allowed and the second indicationbeing active subscription/group joining required, or receiving a thirdsubscription policy update having a third indication after activesubscription by a predetermined number of subscribers, the thirdindication being active subscription/group joining prohibited.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises receiving arequest to re-subscribe to the multicast service when the indicationswitches from implicit subscription allowed to active subscriptionrequired.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium thatstores instructions for execution by one or more processors of asubscriber to configure the subscriber to: receive, from a publisher ina Neighborhood Awareness Network (NAN), a subscription policy for amulticast service, the subscription policy comprising an indicationselectable from active subscription/group joining required, implicitsubscription allowed, or active subscription/group joining prohibited;and receive from a publisher a subscription policy update when apredetermined set of network or subscription conditions is met, whereinthe instructions further configure the subscriber to: engage in a frameexchange to subscribe to the multicast service when the indicationindicates active subscription/group joining is required, determinewhether to engage in the frame exchange to subscribe to the multicastservice when the indication indicates implicit subscription is allowed,and avoid the frame exchange to subscribe to the multicast service whenthe indication indicates active subscription is prohibited.
 16. Themedium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further configure thesubscriber to at least one of: receive a first subscription policyupdate having a first indication after active subscription by thesubscriber to ensure that the multicast service is subscribed to by atmost the subscriber, the indication being active subscription/groupjoining required and the first indication being implicit subscriptionallowed, receive a second subscription policy update having a secondindication after a number of active subscribers falls below apredetermined threshold number of subscribers, the indication being oneof active subscription/group joining prohibited or implicit subscriptionallowed and the second indication being active subscription/groupjoining required, or receive a third subscription policy update having athird indication after active subscription by a predetermined number ofsubscribers, the third indication being active subscription/groupjoining prohibited.
 17. The medium of claim 15, wherein the instructionsfurther configure the subscriber to receive a request to re-subscribe tothe multicast service when the indication switches from implicitsubscription allowed to active subscription required.
 18. The medium ofclaim 15, wherein the predetermined set of network or subscriptionconditions comprise at least one of a minimum or maximum thresholdnumber of active subscribers or a quality of service (QoS) beingreached.